Jam

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CLEAR SPRING -- Practical minded, Clear Spring celebrated the nation's birthday a day early. A day can make a large difference for a group of volunteers throwing an independence party. "Fireworks are like Valentine's roses," said David Wiles, the president of the Clear Spring District Historical Association. "They double the price on the 4th. " So, for the fourth straight year, Clear Spring had an Independence Eve Jam Celebration. Last year's jam, on a Thursday, attracted about 2,000 people to Plumb Grove, off Broadfording Road, Wiles said.

Hagerstown Community College's Center for Continuing Education is offering "Beginning Bluegrass Jamming," on Mondays, June 1 through July 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at HCC's Fort Ritchie site. Each session will feature one or two traditional bluegrass songs in which emphasis is placed on learning lyrics and tune, developing a break for each instrument and jam session etiquette. For more information or to register, call 301-790-2800, ext. 236, or go to www.hagerstowncc.edu/coned .

WILLIAMSPORT -- Like they say, two out of three ain't bad. If the Williamsport softball team didn't believe it, it certainly might after Friday. The Wildcats wiggled out of a pair of a trio of tight situations against Boonsboro in an MVAL Antietam game and turned the tables to pull out a 8-5 victory. "Boonsboro has a tough lineup," said Williamsport coach Tom Dzur. "You can't give them too many chances. We got out of a couple of them. " The Wildcats escaped potential disaster in the first and fourth innings with the help of key plays.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. -- Few on the slopes Saturday at Whitetail Resort weren't even born in time for the 1980s, let alone remember what they were like. But that didn't stop the youngsters from participating in the Pitcrew Totally Radical '80s Rail Jam atop Whitetail's Jib Junction. Almost three dozen skiers and snowboarders competed in the event, the third jam of the 2009 season. "We'll have 12 (events) this season, every weekend through mid-March," Whitetail marketing coordinator Matt See said.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - Andrew Mowen will tell you that his art isn't the type to hang in museums, but the macabre pieces tie into his love of horror movies. "It's really interesting. It's like a car crash without anyone getting hurt," Mowen said. "It's just that shock. " The 22-year-old's latest venture has been time-consuming and expensive. Yet, he looks at the completed latex mask and feels proud of the effort. Mowen's mother, too, expresses pride while teasing him about the mask being "ugly.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA. - What happens when tragedy strikes one of the most well-known musical families in town? The town's musicians reach out with love. Dozens of people began streaming into the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown Sunday night for a night of music designed to raise money for the family of Mason Ellsworth, who was seriously injured in a July 23 traffic accident on Country Club Road north of Charles Town. Ellsworth, 18, was about three-quarters of a mile from the intersection with Flowing Springs Road when he lost control of a GMC Blazer and struck a dump truck, police said.

View the Monster Jam slideshow. WASHINGTON COUNTY - Loud, growling monster trucks wowed the crowd Friday at Hagerstown Speedway. Even the names of the trucks - El Toro Loco, Stone Crusher - were intimidating. The trucks ooze muscles and machismo. Each is about 11 feet high and 12 feet wide, weighs more than 9,000 pounds, and uses tires at least 66 inches high and 43 inches wide, according to a Monster Jam fact sheet. As the pumped-up trucks screamed around the dirt track, the PA announcer yelled with excitement and thousands of people in the stands, including many children, roared, adding to the din. Several fans said Friday that noise is part of the experience, but some, particularly parents, looked for ways to minimize it. Shaun Rose of Hagerstown bought two pairs of ear plugs from a vendor.

Tickets are still available for Monster Jam scheduled for this weekend at Hagerstown Speedway. The following trucks and drivers or crew will be on display today: · Grave Digger will be at Frederick Motor Co., One Waverly Drive in Frederick, Md., from noon to 2 p.m.; and Tires Plus, 7381 Guiliford Drive in Frederick, from 5 to 7 p.m. · The 2008 Monster Jam world finals freestyle winner Taz will be at Hagerstown Ford, 1714 Massey Blvd....

CLEAR SPRING -- It started in 2006 as a way to bring the town together over the July Fourth weekend. Three years later, Clear Spring's Independence Jam has become an annual event that organizers say gets to the heart of what the holiday is all about. "A sense of history, a sense of community. That's why we do this. Every community should celebrate July Fourth," said David Wiles, president of the Clear Spring District Historical Association, which puts together the event every year.

Cary Smith, 15, has gone from stepping up to the mic with others in 2006 to performing solo sets, singing and playing guitar. Guitarist Brooks Binau, 19, and drummer Doug Grove, 23, released their first independent album, The Latte Roasted EP, last November and are playing a New York City bar this month. Cary and Binau have both gotten experience performing regularly in front of a crowd at Port City Java in Long Meadow Shopping Center, in Hagerstown's North End. Ever since the coffeehouse opened in October 2004, it has helped local amateur musicians get some experience in front of a mic and a crowd, says owner Vivienne Smith, who is not related to Cary Smith.